


Universe Falls (Summer Job Au)

by CaricatureOfIntimacy



Category: Gravity Falls, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trans Dipper Pines, gravity falls summer job au, gravity falls/steven universe summer job au, steven universe summer job au, summer job AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:40:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27786892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaricatureOfIntimacy/pseuds/CaricatureOfIntimacy
Summary: Steven Universe arrives in Gravity Falls and decides to look for a job so he can support himself rather than depending on his father's money. It seems like a nice little town, normal to the point of boring.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 5
Kudos: 62





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, this is my first proper fic so I ask that you be nice. There will probably be descriptions of panic attacks and PTSD within this fic, as well as possible mentions of dysphoria. If you need anything specific tagging, let me know and please, enjoy!

**Welcome to Gravity Falls**

It had been a long day of driving. If he was honest, Steven wasn’t quite sure where he was going. His road trip was going well so far and he had gone to all the recommended places; New York, LA, Washington, The Grand Canyon, and so on and so on, so much so that he had sort of run out of places to go. It had been fun, exploring the country in which he grew up and yet knew basically nothing about, even if he did struggle immensely with getting used to the outside world - who knew that hotels didn’t have laundry rooms and you had to use laundromats? 

Of course, he’d kept up to date with his friends and family back in Beach City, not to mention his therapist who he video called once a week for their regular session. The Gems were still missing him and they had only recently stopped crying whenever they had to end the video call, and he saw Connie around once a month when Steven told her where he was and she portaled there on lion. Despite being busy with college, they both still video called most nights. The pair had arranged a call for that night after the long, aimless day of just driving until he found himself in a possibly quaint, although it could also be described as dingy, little town, just as the sun was beginning to set. 

Parking on the edge of the road, Steven pulled up the map on his phone and found that he was in a small town named Gravity Falls. There was a vague familiarity to the name that Steven couldn’t quite put his finger on, as though he’d heard of it before but only in passing. He supposed it didn’t quite matter as if he couldn’t remember it all that well then it probably wasn’t important; it sounded like one of those strange unheard-of places that Ronaldo would mention when rambling on about weirdness. In fact, that was probably where he’d heard it before. Once again, he returned to the point that it didn’t quite matter given that most of Ronaldo’s stories, if not about Beach City, were purely speculation and a misrepresentation of the facts. Dismissing that with a shrug, he then went on to look up any places to stay in Gravity Falls, finding that there was a motel about a mile down the road where he could stay for a couple of nights whilst he figured out what he wanted to do.

The town seemed quite enjoyable anyway. Even if it was a little small, Steven wasn’t sure he’d seen so many trees in his life. Perhaps he could go on an early morning hike the next day, or do a little exploring. There was a stark contrast to the openness of Beach City and the bustling noise of the big cities that he kind of...liked. It was nice. 

It was as he was pondering that and looking out of the window at the wonderful scenery that his phone began to ring and Connie’s name appeared on his screen. 

“Hi!” Steven began excitedly as he picked up the call, positioning his phone on the dashboard of his Dondai so he could wave at the camera. 

“Hey Steven! How are you? _Where_ are you? You weren’t exactly specific about where you were going last time I called.” Came an equally as excited although slightly more tired reply from Connie who was laid across her bed with her phone propped up against one of the pillows. 

Chuckling softly, Steven shrugged “I’m not that sure. I sort of just...drove. It’s this place called Gravity Falls which I think Ronaldo mentioned once, but I’m not certain. It’s nice here though, definitely nice.” He was rambling a bit, but he always enjoyed telling Connie as much as he could, not to mention, he’d been feeling much better recently so speaking was becoming easier. “How’s college been the past few days?”

“Oh, you know. Same old, same old. Not that it’s boring, I’m really enjoying my classes, but they’re just classes y’know? Nothing interesting to report.” Connie replied, before adding before Steven could say anything, “How’s money? I know last time you said that you were running low. Did you ask your dad for more like we discussed?”

There was a moment of silence as Steven awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at his lap in both shame but also nervousness. “Umm...speaking about that…” He began, not quite sure how to say what he wanted to say. “I was thinking about picking up a job somewhere. Nothing big, just for the summer. But...I want to know how to live on my own without depending on dad and I feel really guilty asking him for more money when I know I should have just been more careful with it rather than splurging on all those four-star hotels instead of cheaper places-...”

“Steven.” The excess of an explanation was cut off by Connie who gave him a look with a raised eyebrow. “You know you don’t have to feel guilty about asking your dad for things. He has a lot of money and he’s more than happy to share it with you.”

“I know, I know. But it’s not just that. I want to have more...uh...agency over myself. Other kids my age know how to earn a living and if I don’t at least get some experience in the human world then I’ll have to devote my life to Gem stuff. Not that Gem stuff is bad, but, that’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life, I’ve already embraced and explored the gem side of me, can’t I just do something human?”

Connie gave him a sympathetic smile and then a nod. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. You’re allowed to do what you want Steven. I just want to make sure that you’re doing that for yourself and not because you feel guilty about asking for money. Okay?”

There was another soft laugh from Steven followed by a nod in return. “Yeah, okay.”

“At least speak to your therapist about this or something. And, if the job gets too much then remember that you’re under no obligation to stay. You can just quit and leave, you always have your family to fall back on, alright?”

He smiled wide at his ever-wise girlfriend and nodded once more. “Alright. Thank you, Connie. It means a lot. 

“It’s no issue.” Connie smiled back at him before glancing over at her clock. “It’s getting late here so I’ll head to bed. You look after yourself Steven and have a good night…” A pause, “Love you.”

That one had Steven grinning “Love you too. Night!”

With that, Connie ended the call, leaving Steven sat on his own on the side of the road in what was now a rather deep darkness. Still smiling from the aftermath of speaking to Connie, Steven pulled out his wallet to see how much money he actually had left. There was about enough for one night at a motel, maybe two if the place was really cheap but he needed to eat too. Sighing, he shoved the wallet into his pocket and started up the car once more, driving off down the road. Maybe Connie was right and he should ask his dad for a little more money, at least until he found a steady job. Just enough for the week, that was all. There was nothing to feel guilty about and no shame in asking for help - he had to remember that, it was important. Maybe he’d ask him in the morning before he went out looking for a place to work. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. 

Checking into the surprisingly nice motel down the road, Steven settled in for the night, not bothering unpacking since he was pretty tired from a long day of driving. Connie was worried about stress but he doubted anything would happen. Gravity Falls seemed like a nice, normal town and the perfect place for him to relax and continue to find himself. Certainly, nothing strange would happen.


	2. Welcome Back Pines Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins have arrived at the Mystery Shack, meeting up with Ford and Stan who arrived only a few moments later and everyone is excited to spend the summer together - well, apart from Dipper.

10 hours. Dipper and Mabel had been stuck inside that uncomfortable, stinking bus - with a pig no less - for 10 whole hours. They were both excited to return to the place where they’d discovered a lot about themselves a year previously; to see their family and friends again. But was it really worth the ten-hour drive from Piedmont to their home away from home in Gravity Falls? The bus began to trundle to a stop and, as the twins looked out of the window, they saw the greeting party of Soos, Candy, Grenda and their two Grunkles, Stan and Ford, looking exhausted. It was worth it, Dipper decided with a slight smile. What it wasn’t worth, however, was the squealing high pitch of his sister next to him as she banged on the window to try and get the party’s attention. 

“Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Ford! Look Dipper, he’s wearing the sweater I made him. Come on, come on!” She shouted excitedly, definitely disturbing the rest of the bus as she quickly grabbed all of her things and then ran down towards the door before the bus could even stop. Rolling his eyes, Dipper couldn’t help but smile as he followed, much more carefully, after her. The past year had been tough for him and Mabel, Mabel especially had been suffering quite a bit after the events of what had happened last summer. Dipper had problems of his own but he preferred to focus on Mabel and help keep her happy - there she was looking happier than she had been in the entire year since they had left Gravity Falls. Good. 

“Hey, Mabel! Wait up!” He called after her, his words seemingly useless as she was already sprinting as fast as she could towards the group, her two friends meeting her halfway. 

“Maybe you should hurry up slowcoach.” She retorted, sticking out her tongue at Dipper before turning back to her friends and hugging them hard. Grenda, of course, hugged the hardest, and Mabel was pretty sure that she had bruised her ribs, but she still did her best to hug her back just as hard, giving Candy the same treatment. “I can’t believe it’s been a year since we’ve seen each other. Girls, we have so much to discuss.”

“What are you on about Mabel? You called them basically every night.” Dipper asked as he walked past the trio. 

“Yeah, but I didn’t see them.”

“Oh, so you didn’t video chat every weekend then?”

Mabel took a second to come up with a retort before realising an attack would be better and suddenly throwing a handful of glitter at her passing brother. “That’s not the same Dipper, and you know that.” She laughed. Sighing, Dipper nodded and began to wipe off the glitter that had covered him.  _ Great _ . He’d be sparkly for at least a week, no matter how many baths he took. Looking up, he was suddenly greeted by Soos towering over him who wasted no time in pulling him into a crushing hug. 

“Dude! It’s great to see you again!” Came the booming voice from above him. 

“Yeah, it’s great to see you too Mister Mystery.” Although Soos still cherished his green question mark t-shirt, he had taken to wearing the same slick suit that Stan had worn when he had been running the Mystery Shack, along with donning the fez and the cane. Dipper had to admit that it suited him quite well and, although he was surprised to see that the shack itself hadn’t been burnt down since they’d left, it was nice that Soos had something to do rather than whatever he was told to do by Stan. Eventually, Dipper was let out of the hug and allowed to breathe again - actually, breathing was still quite hard, perhaps he shouldn’t have put his binder on for the bus journey. The crushing weight on his ribs was still there and Dipper only had a couple of moments to recover before Mabel came barreling past and Soos was engulfed in a show of sparkles and sweater. 

Turning to continue walking up, he saw Stan and Ford standing side by side, Stan laughing uproariously about the glitter that he was covered in despite the fact that he, himself, was wearing a Mabel creation that had its own supply of glitter. Even though the pair were both smiling, they looked exhausted, and Dipper wondered if they had only just arrived themselves.

“Dipper.” Came the curt but friendly greeting from Ford who nodded his way, a six-fingered hand reaching out in greeting. 

“Hi, Great Uncle Ford. How are you? How was your trip? Did you just get back? You both look tired.” Dipper questioned without pause which earned him a ruffle of his hair - well, his hat - from Stan. 

“Hey, kid. We’re fine, stop with the interrogation will ya, and get yourself inside. Soos cooked and you can ask as many questions as you want over dinner. Alright?” 

Staring up at the other for a few moments, Dipper sighed and then nodded. As much as he wished he could ask more, he understood that they had probably just got back and so wouldn’t want to answer anything right then. Readjusting his bag on his shoulder, he gripped his trunk a little tighter and headed over to the shack. Soos had left it unlocked and so he walked right into the familiar gift shop, smiling a little as he looked around to see what had been done with the place. There seemed to be a few new attractions along with a somewhat horrifying depiction of Stan made of stone in the corner of the shop with the word ‘Founder’, scrawled messily under it. Soos had probably made it himself. As he began to walk towards the hall that would take him into the rest of the house, he caught sight of the rug just a few feet in front of him and stopped dead in his tracks.

Bill.

How had they not noticed before? How had they not known he was coming when all the signs were right there. There had been triangles all over the shack and this was an actual depiction of the demon itself. More importantly, why hadn’t it been gotten rid of? No one wanted to see this anymore, did they? Or maybe it was just him. Everyone else seemed fine, sure, Stan and Ford were a little tired, and Mable had experienced a couple of nightmares here and there, but she was getting better. Why wasn’t he getting better? Was he just too weak to get over what had happened last summer? It was over a year ago after all. Over a year since they’d been trapped and almost killed over, and over and over again. Over a year since he was turned to wood and almost left that way. 

There was suddenly a hand on Dipper’s shoulder and he flinched away, turning as quick as he could to look up at who had touched him. “Oh...hey Ford.” He mumbled, trying to force his breathing to calm back down. He was fine, all would be fine and there was definitely nothing to worry about. 

“Are you feeling okay Dipper? You look a little pale.” He questioned with a raised eyebrow, staring at him with concern. 

“Oh yeah! I’m fine great uncle Ford. Just tired from being on the bus you know? Come on, we should get to dinner.” Before Ford could even try to respond, Dipper had rushed out of the room and up to the attic so he could put his things away, ignoring the call of his name that came a few moments after. 

Ford was worried but Dipper couldn’t let him be worried, that was just selfish. He supposed he’d just have to find a way to hide it. Things would be fine; there was no monster to battle this summer, no strange creature that was going to try to kill them, nothing could go wrong. Dipper just needed to get a hold of himself, that was all, then he was sure it would be fine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support in the last chapter, it's cool to see people enjoying my work. I hope you enjoyed this one and I'll try to update the net one within a weeks time!

**Author's Note:**

> I will try and update at least once a week but I have a very busy life and a general lack of motivation so I can't make any promises. That being said, I am excited to write more!


End file.
